Sunday, January 17, 2010

Should We Tax Cosmetic Surgery To Help Pay For Health Care Insurance?

This the question raised in Knives Drawn Over the 'Botax'. The article says:
"Leading makers of antiwrinkle drugs, breast implants and other appearance-related products are trying to derail a proposed tax on elective cosmetic surgery in the Senate's health-overhaul bill.

The proposed 5% levy -- dubbed the "Botax" after the antiwrinkle treatment product Botox -- would raise an estimated $5.8 billion over 10 years."

Some are opposed to it, including plastic surgeons and "companies in aesthetic treatments."
"Botox treatments are by far the most popular procedure, costing an average of $443 in 2008, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The American Medical Association, which also opposes the tax, says it would be the first federal levy on a medical procedure."

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